EARLIEST "CROWN TOP" SODA BOTTLES 1892 - 1900

[bottlesjhbottler]

NICE BOTTLES I LOVE MY CROWN CAP GINGER BEERS,CHEERS

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Thanks bottlesjhbottler ~

I dig those ceramic bottles. Never dug one before, though. They would make an interesting study unto themselves. Nice collection.

~ * ~

Some may be wondering why all the interest in being able to determine a "near exact" date for an old crown top soda bottle, or for any type of old bottle. Especially knowing that many learned individuals before us have been scrutinizing and researching this very subject for years. And yet it is the results of that research that most of us access on the internet or from books. But even with all the research that's been done, the authors of those works still use terms like "circa" - "about" - "possibly" - "maybe," etc; etc. ... and once in a while they even say "I'm guessing." So there we have it! Nobody knows for sure, and no one person has all the answers. Personally, I still have more questions than I do answers.

And yet, I will try and answer my own question by saying that I have of a sudden taken a genuine interest in turn of the century soda pop bottles. For the past thirty years or so my primary interest has been with ACLs from the mid 1950s. But now, I'm looking at new horizons, with the sun shining really bright on those wonderful old crown-top sodas like my grandpa use to pop open and drink as a kid. Extremely interesting time in American culture to research. It has kind of an early Walt Disney / Norman Rockwell feel about it.

The thing is, if I start getting into this so called "Victorian" age of soda bottles, I'd like to know something about them first. And the first thing I need to learn is how to recognize one when I see it. Because what I have in mind is to collect crown sodas "as near as I can get" to the year 1900. (Give or take a few years either way). Hopefully the end result of this thread will be to better prepare myself and others so we will have more confidence the next time we walk into a bottle show and see one of them gems sitting there waiting for us. I'd like to be able to walk up to the display table and say, "Hey, there's one of those 1902 John Doe bottles from Cityville, California. Wow! I'll take it."

But I'm not at the comfort level yet, which is why I am interested in being able to properly date bottles that don't already have a date on them like my collection of ACLs do. And thanks to y'all, I've already learned a ton of stuff and learning more every day.

Thanks for letting me jabber -

And thanks for being a part of Antique-Bottles.net ... "Where the experts live."

SPB

 

[cyberdigger]

The thing is, if I start getting into this so called "Victorian" age of soda bottles, I'd like to know something about them first. And the first thing I need to learn is how to recognize one when I see it. Because what I have in mind is to collect crown sodas "as near as I can get" to the year 1900. (Give or take a few years either way)

Just look for the hand-finished ones, Bob.. those tooled crowns positively date from 1892 to WW1...

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Thanks again cyberdigger ~ you have been a tremendous help.

And even though I have found examples of early crown sodas on e-Bay and elsewhere, it would still be great if members here could share a few photos and information of what they might have in their collections. And it would be especially nice if something other than straight sided Coca Cola bottles were to turn up. I know there are tons of those around, but I think it would be of particular interest to everyone concerned to see some of the other, more obscure brands that were also popular around the turn of the century. And I won't even ask that they be dated accurately. An approximate date like "circa 1900" is close enough for this country boy. Speaking of country boys, I wonder what type of sodas Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn were drinking back in ... 1???

Thanks again,

EARLYCROWNSODASBOB

 

[appliedlips]

Not that it helps on the venting question, but I think it misleading to compare English made bottles to American made crowntops as far as dating. Not that I know anything about English bottles but I have dug quite a few hand blown,applied lip crowns from across the pond in layers dating from the 1910-20 period. Their glasshouses took longer to transition into tooling lips and automatic bottle machines. As far as dating I think glasshouse marks and research on the bottlers themselves would be the only effective method since the bottles you are concentrating on are from such a short lived period..

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

appliedlips ~

Thanks. I was hoping to hear from you again. And you are 100% right! A study of the makers marks and specific bottlers of the era would be the place to look. But as we all know, those records can be a study in themselves. Which sort of brings me back to square one again. But this doesn't mean the search is over, only that I just need to pursue a slightly different avenue of research.

Take Coca Cola for example. You would think with everything known about the company these days, that someone, somewhere would be able to say with definitive certainty which of their bottles was "the very first crown" Coke ever made. But even specifics on those particular bottles have eluded me so far. Almost without exception I keep running into terms like "circa 1905," etc. Which, like I said earlier, is close enough for me. But you'd think someone would have this all figured out by now.

Lastly, my initial hope with all of this was simply to have a few old crown soda bottles (ideally from around 1899 or so) and be able to say, "Hey, check this out! This is one of the very first crown soda bottles ever made. Isn't it cool?"

But it looks like I will have to do some more homework before that day ever comes. And the place to start that research is with a list of bottlers and the dates when they first began operation. Which brings me to my next, and hopefully final question ...

Does anybody have a good internet link where I can find this information?

Thanks again to all,

SPB

P.S. Shortly I intend to post the photo of a bottle that I recently bought and "may" be a candidate as to what I have been looking for.

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Although this is not a very good photo, it is of a bottle I purchased just this morning from e-Bay. I'm taking a gamble on it though, as the seller knew absoloutely nothing regarding the date other than to say it was "old." I know it's in pretty rough shape, with some extensive casewear, etc., but apparently there are no cracks or chips. I got it for just under $15.00, so I'm not too concerned about that part of the transaction. The only reason I even bought it was due to some research I did regarding (colbalt ?) "blue" crown top soda bottles. There may be exceptions as to what I discovered about them, (there are always exceptions), but it appears that this particular color of blue was rarely used after the turn of the century. (Most of the early soda bottles were either aqua or amber). Thus, I thought it would be a worthy candidate, and purchased so as to take a closer look at it and use it as a guinea pig in my continuing pursuit of those elusive first crown top soda bottles. It should be here within a week or so, and I will let you know what I discover about it when it arrives. Who knows, "maybe" I just purchased the very first crown soda ever made! "NOT!" []

It has been real, and it has definitely been fun!

Your soda pop collecting and researching buddy ...

Bob

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

And for good measure, I thought I would show this illustration of a 1901 bottle which, thus far, is the earliest confirmed date I have been able to find for a crown top soda. But whether it was actually ever put into full production or not still remains a mystery to me. I guess I will have to put it on my list of about 100 different things I still need to research. Oh, woe-is-me! []

SPB

 

[cyberdigger]

Well, it's no sodee-pop, but you might like this, because I think it's the type of bottle you're looking for.. early brand name crown top products.. this one was hand blown in a mold and finished with a lipping tool, just like the good ole days, except the glass congealed a tad sloppily inside this specimen, making it a fun one to hold up in front of a light and twirl it around.. [] ..the Brooklyn bottling facility for which this container was made was.. indubitably.. a very big and busy one, and there is a pretty good chance that some research could turn up some clues as to exactly when they began to use crowns.. instead of trying to navigate my way through TOC DOCS I offer to send this bottle to you at shipping cost, Bob.. for inspiration.. [] PM me if inerested..

 

[SODAPOPBOB]

Cy ~

Thank you so much for the offer, and I may take you up on it in a week or two. But for the time being let's see what I can find out on the blue bottle I bought from e-Bay this morning. I've already done a little research on my bottle and, interestingly, it appears to have been made by the same Mfg. as yours. The only difference is your's says "Anheuser Busch," whereas mine says "Aldolphus Bush." According to the seller, my bottle is marked on the bottom ... A. B. G. M. Co. Which I already know stands for ... Aldolphus Bush Glass Mfg. Company, and that they were in business from 1891 to 1925. (I like the 1891 part, but the 1925 has me a little concerned). I'll PM you soon and discuss your most generous offer.

Surely Aldolphus and Anheuser are connected/related? Hmmm ... More research.

Thanks again,

Bob